They can release a TV as their latest “so expensive it’s ridiculous” buzz product to bring more attention to their TV business, but they’d be way better off making an Apple TV stick….
At this point I just want them to make the Apple TV app a better streaming app than Netflix Prime Video and Hulu. Expand their channel offerings like getting Max Peacock and Disney+ etc on board. Expand the tvOS/home integrations with everything. Expand Apple TV+ features like insight to other Apple TV channels. Get more sports deals in and integrate more with the Apple Sports iOS app.
Most of all, they need to introduce Apple intelligence to tvOS. The home integration possibilities in general would be endless.
As a key part of the home ecosystem, a TV has always made a lot of sense. Even ten years ago. Munster was right.
An ecosystem provider is just ticking a box and tying everything together to make things more seamless for the end user and with that comes, 'stickiness'.
The more areas playing along together, the better.
Apple's competitors have long had TV options and pretty darn good ones at that. They don't have to be huge sellers or even have huge margins, that isn't the goal. They are simply another part of the ecosystem.
If you want a seamless video connection from your car to your home or if you want to just check if things are ok while you are out and there is nobody in the house, it is perfect. The onboard cameras can even 'follow' you around as you talk. The same cameras and sensors can interpret gestures for control etc.
If you want your music to play from your TV or use it's cameras to do skeletal mapping for your onscreen, assisted workouts, it's fine.
Idem a smart hub, screen mirror for phone, laptop or tablet.
Even the possibility of using onboard processing capabilities for use with other devices.
Obviously there is also the benefit that people are likely to buy multiple TVs for different rooms.
That linked article in Bloomberg is really idle speculation by the author. (Gurman) There's no evidence anything has recently changed regarding a TV.
That said, and as others have commented, there is no real value to Apple to make a TV with a screen. I disagree "quite a lot of people" would pay extra for something without some very specific advantage. This exists in the computer, phone, watch, and tablet markets for Apple. There isn't an analog in TVs' with screens. However, there *is* an advantage to making a competitive TV streaming box (the ATV) and I would expect Apple to concentrate efforts there.
I hold out hope that Apple will re-enter the wifi router business. They have much to offer those products, particularly in terms of privacy.
Apple shouldn’t waste time trying to compete with essentially disposable commodity items from dozens of manufacturers. What’s next, a “smart” microwave?
I’d say Apple should try to make Apple TV 4K work a little better with dumb monitors and speakers, even with standard TVs.
In my bedroom I have a 32” Viewsonic 1440p IPS monitor connected to Apple TV 4K and KEF LSX speakers and subwoofer. It’s a little more complicated to use than my living room system, since I have to separately control the speakers.
My living room system is an LG UHDTV and KEF wireless speakers and subwoofers.
The TV and speakers use HDMI eARC, which allows me to control speaker volume with the TV remote.
It also means that Apple TV turns on the TV and speaker system simultaneously, which is great.
The speakers auto-switch audio inputs when the TV is turned on.
It would be MUCH better if I were able to control volume with the Apple TV remote and avoid using the TV remote entirely.
So, make Apple TV 4K work better with a wider variety of peripherals and be a bit more flexible. How about an Apple TV Max (or something) that acts more like a media hub connecting audio/video devices and peripherals and making them work better together.
"I’d say Apple should try to make Apple TV 4K work a little better with dumb monitors and speakers, even with standard TVs."
I'd love to see an ATV sound bar that integrates tvOS, FaceTime camera, and 6-speaker system that supports Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio
As a key part of the home ecosystem, a TV has always made a lot of sense. Even ten years ago. Munster was right.
An ecosystem provider is just ticking a box and tying everything together to make things more seamless for the end user and with that comes, 'stickiness'.
The more areas playing along together, the better.
Apple's competitors have long had TV options and pretty darn good ones at that. They don't have to be huge sellers or even have huge margins, that isn't the goal. They are simply another part of the ecosystem.
If you want a seamless video connection from your car to your home or if you want to just check if things are ok while you are out and there is nobody in the house, it is perfect. The onboard cameras can even 'follow' you around as you talk. The same cameras and sensors can interpret gestures for control etc.
If you want your music to play from your TV or use it's cameras to do skeletal mapping for your onscreen, assisted workouts, it's fine.
Idem a smart hub, screen mirror for phone, laptop or tablet.
Even the possibility of using onboard processing capabilities for use with other devices.
Obviously there is also the benefit that people are likely to buy multiple TVs for different rooms.
here's sorta the thing. YMMV, but I don't need or want any of that. I really don't know how much of a market that all appeals to, but my guess is...not a lot. People want a TV with a nice picture and no invasive, insulting, repetitive ads.
My entire TV viewing experience comes through my Apple TV. I'm not sure what Apple could bring to the table beyond what I'm already getting. I guess you never know because they've been known to redefine other products we thought were already "good enough."
Truth be told, unless you're talking massive screen sizes I've currently moved over to simply buying nice 4K monitors and using them as a TV using an Apple TV on one input and a Mac mini on the other input. My second screen on my Mac Studio (4K Dell) is setup like this using an AV receiver. I don't need OTA television since the national and local network TV channels all come in through the Spectrum app on Apple TV. Most of the big TV makers like LG have their own open channels numbering in the hundreds = all of which I've never watched. I do have an indoor antenna connected to my few remaining dedicated TVs but it's basically just the local news, Spanish language channels, and worn-out reruns, e.g., Matlock, CHiPs, In the Heat of the Night, etc., and B&W westerns from the 1960s like Gunsmoke and Rawhide. Grandpa TV.
Perhaps Apple could do something along the lines of becoming an IPTV provider with subscriptions managed through their existing Apple TV+ service. But build a physical TV? Why bother?
A great OS on the other hand…. even webOS on LG sucks. A single line of difficult to navigate apps have a few, and I haven’t yet figured out how to remove a lot of the LG supplied ones.
But tizen is no better, or google, and I have a severe hate for VIDAA. The worst bit is the OS based ads.
the Hisense I have a second TV (VIDAA). I just use an ATV box for the User interface.
I would never, ever buy a smart TV. That's because no Smart TV that I've ever seen has ever described what data it sends back to the manufacturer's HQ once I connect it to my network. The current manufacturers of Smart TVs have a Facebook mentality: "Don't tell the consumer what kind of data we are taking from them."
If Apple ever sold a Smart TV, they would make it extremely clear what data is being sent back to them.
Two things: 1) Apple sells some of the best displays for its Macs and iPads -- in most cases much better than other manufacturers. They would likely sell the best TV screens. 2) TV manufacturers' remotes are super-complicated and their UX experiences are wretched. I assume Apple would have a simple remote and simple screen UX. (Although their latest TV app is super-fiddly, so maybe not.)
I think rumors got mixed up with the Apple TV set top box. It could be just a redesign of the the current TV set top box. Probably it will be much smaller just like the Mac mini.
I just don’t buy it. There are so many reasons why Apple‘s not going to do this. you’re talking about a market where the vast majority of people don’t pay for premium devices. The cheaper brands and models are more than sufficient. Sure, there are people buying $2500 sets instead of $500 ones at the same size, but most people can go down to Walmart and buy a 75 inch TV for 600 bucks…and it looks pretty darn good. I just don’t see why Apple would want to get involved in that market.
I think rumors got mixed up with the Apple TV set top box. It could be just a redesign of the the current TV set top box. Probably it will be much smaller just like the Mac mini.
The original article by Gurman isn't particularly well written, so this might be the case(!). But I think you mean that Apple plans to downsize the ATV into a smaller form factor, a process they just did with the MacMini. The new MacMini is actually bigger than the current ATV, so a new ATV won't be "Just like the Mac mini."
I do sorta wonder if an ATV could be an HDMI dongle like some of the competitors are. But what I'd really like is an ATV with OTA tuners and a coax input for them; and...an onboard wifi router (airport.) None of this will happen though.
If Apple made a TV that had Retina screen quality like all their other products with displays, and could easily be tasked from computer monitor to TV, I'd give one a close look. IF Apple were to make a TV I see it as being something of a larger computer monitor and not a 100" OLED monster.
I too hate the menus on the overwhelming majority of "flat screen" TVs. They remind me of the horror of cellphone menus prior to the iPhone. I'll believe it when I see it but I'd seriously check it out if it happened. Lots of unknowns to be known before I dismiss the decision to buy one if it were ever to exist.
Comments
An ecosystem provider is just ticking a box and tying everything together to make things more seamless for the end user and with that comes, 'stickiness'.
The more areas playing along together, the better.
Apple's competitors have long had TV options and pretty darn good ones at that. They don't have to be huge sellers or even have huge margins, that isn't the goal. They are simply another part of the ecosystem.
If you want a seamless video connection from your car to your home or if you want to just check if things are ok while you are out and there is nobody in the house, it is perfect. The onboard cameras can even 'follow' you around as you talk. The same cameras and sensors can interpret gestures for control etc.
If you want your music to play from your TV or use it's cameras to do skeletal mapping for your onscreen, assisted workouts, it's fine.
Idem a smart hub, screen mirror for phone, laptop or tablet.
Even the possibility of using onboard processing capabilities for use with other devices.
Obviously there is also the benefit that people are likely to buy multiple TVs for different rooms.
That said, and as others have commented, there is no real value to Apple to make a TV with a screen. I disagree "quite a lot of people" would pay extra for something without some very specific advantage. This exists in the computer, phone, watch, and tablet markets for Apple. There isn't an analog in TVs' with screens. However, there *is* an advantage to making a competitive TV streaming box (the ATV) and I would expect Apple to concentrate efforts there.
I hold out hope that Apple will re-enter the wifi router business. They have much to offer those products, particularly in terms of privacy.
I'd love to see an ATV sound bar that integrates tvOS, FaceTime camera, and 6-speaker system that supports Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio
Truth be told, unless you're talking massive screen sizes I've currently moved over to simply buying nice 4K monitors and using them as a TV using an Apple TV on one input and a Mac mini on the other input. My second screen on my Mac Studio (4K Dell) is setup like this using an AV receiver. I don't need OTA television since the national and local network TV channels all come in through the Spectrum app on Apple TV. Most of the big TV makers like LG have their own open channels numbering in the hundreds = all of which I've never watched. I do have an indoor antenna connected to my few remaining dedicated TVs but it's basically just the local news, Spanish language channels, and worn-out reruns, e.g., Matlock, CHiPs, In the Heat of the Night, etc., and B&W westerns from the 1960s like Gunsmoke and Rawhide. Grandpa TV.
Perhaps Apple could do something along the lines of becoming an IPTV provider with subscriptions managed through their existing Apple TV+ service. But build a physical TV? Why bother?
even webOS on LG sucks. A single line of difficult to navigate apps have a few, and I haven’t yet figured out how to remove a lot of the LG supplied ones.
the Hisense I have a second TV (VIDAA). I just use an ATV box for the User interface.
If Apple ever sold a Smart TV, they would make it extremely clear what data is being sent back to them.
I do sorta wonder if an ATV could be an HDMI dongle like some of the competitors are. But what I'd really like is an ATV with OTA tuners and a coax input for them; and...an onboard wifi router (airport.) None of this will happen though.
I too hate the menus on the overwhelming majority of "flat screen" TVs. They remind me of the horror of cellphone menus prior to the iPhone. I'll believe it when I see it but I'd seriously check it out if it happened. Lots of unknowns to be known before I dismiss the decision to buy one if it were ever to exist.